Marvin X facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Marvin X
Born	Marvin Ellis Jackmon (1944-05-29) May 29, 1944 (age 81) Fowler, California United States
Occupation	Poet playwright essayist
Education	Merritt College San Francisco State University

Marvin X (born Marvin Ellis Jackmon; May 29, 1944) is an American writer. He is known as a poet, playwright, and essayist.

Marvin X was born in Fowler, California. He later chose the Muslim name El Muhajir. This name means "the expatriate" in Arabic. His writings are connected to the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s. This movement was a time when Black artists created powerful works.

Early Life and Family

Marvin X grew up in Fresno and Oakland. His family was very active in their community. He finished high school at Thomas Alva Edison High School in Fresno in 1962.

His parents published a newspaper called the Fresno Voice. This paper was owned by Black people in Fresno, California. In 1947, the newspaper shared news about community events. It also advertised local businesses, including his parents' real estate company. The paper also wrote about big national and state events. It supported laws against unfair treatment. It also celebrated Jackie Robinson Day. The paper highlighted integrated Freedom Trains in New York. It also covered the work of the Catholic church with Native Americans and Black people.

Marvin X has four living children. He also had one son who passed away before him.

The Black Arts Movement

Marvin X is seen as a very important writer and playwright. He was a key part of the Black Aesthetics Movement. He worked with famous activists like Huey P. Newton, Bobby Seale, and Eldridge Cleaver. He also worked in Black theater with Ed Bullins.

He went to Merritt College, where he met Newton and Seale. He later earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in English. He studied at San Francisco State University.

Marvin X has taught at many colleges and universities. These include San Francisco State University and UC Berkeley. He also taught at UC San Diego and Mills College. He has lectured at places like the University of Arkansas and Howard University.

He became a strong voice in the Black Arts Movement (BAM). This movement was the artistic side of the Black Power movement. It grew popular in the mid-to-late 1960s. He wrote for many important BAM journals.

Marvin X also helped start two major BAM centers. These were Oakland's Black House and San Francisco's Black Arts/West Theatre. He co-founded them with playwright Ed Bullins and others.

In 1967, Marvin X joined the Nation of Islam. He became known as El Muhajir. In the 1980s, he organized important events. These included the Melvin Black Forum on Human Rights. He also started the first Annual All Black Men's Conference.

He worked as an assistant to former Black Panther Eldridge Cleaver. He also created the Marvin X Center for the Study of World Religions for a short time. In 1999, he started San Francisco's Recovery Theatre. His play One Day in the Life ran for a long time. It became the longest-running African-American drama in Northern California.

In 2004, he produced the San Francisco Tenderloin Book Fair. This event was also called the San Francisco Black Radical Book Fair. He also started the University of Poetry. He has taught many subjects. These include Black Studies, drama, and creative writing. He also taught journalism, English, and Arabic. He taught at various colleges and universities in California.

Marvin X has published 30 books. These include essays, poems, and plays. He also wrote his autobiography, Somethin' Proper. Some of his well-known books are Fly to Allah and Beyond Religion, Toward Spirituality. In 2011, his writings were acquired by the UC Berkeley Bancroft Library. Marvin X continues to work as an activist, educator, writer, and producer today.

Awards and Honors

• PEN Oakland, Reginald Lockett Lifetime Achievement Award, 2015
• Marvin X Day was declared by the City and County of San Francisco, 2001
• Life Member, California Scholarship Federation, Honor Society
• National Endowment for the Arts Writing Fellowship, 1972
• National Endowment for the Humanities Planning Grants, 1979